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Friday, April 27, 2012

Within the last hour, Randi Marshall of newsday broke the news that the Islanders and Rangers have an agreement in place that would allow the Islanders to move to Brooklyn.

This is coming after Kate Murray made some comments to a newsday reporter earlier today about the Coliseum situation, basically giving her and the town board a big pat on the back like normal and in the last paragraph questioning the Rangers response should the Islanders move to Brooklyn. Well this news proves what we all already know that she has about as good a pulse on this situation as some random person from out west.

Given the fact that by the day I have less and less faith in Nassau news like this is certainly nice to hear.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

If you didn't know, today, well yesterday was the ten year anniversary of the Shawn Bates playoff penalty shot goal in 2001/2002 vs the Maple-Leafs. That goal sent the Coliseum into a tizzy, and according to some the Coliseum didn't reach noise levels like that again til the night we drafted Tavares. Quite the opposite of end of the spectrum there, right? Well I guess that can show how the teams decade went. In the beginning of the decade being involved in one of the most intense playoff series ever, and by the end having the draft party in large part be the highlight of the season.

With all the crap going on with the team check out the video below of the play and escape for two minutes back to a time when everything was better.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Today, Newsday reported that Gary Bettman has stated that the NHL has begun helping the Islanders search for other "Metro Area" options for the team to call home.

He ripped the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County basically saying they don't care to keep the town and countys only professional sports team.

Well, I have to say that it is about time they got involved with this. Although Bettman has played down the possibility of Brooklyn as a home for the Islanders, when he starts to lose faith in Nassau and realize theres not really any other place locally that would have a venue ready in time that Brooklyn may not be bad.

While, Brooklyn isn't ideal if they have a permanent commitment from the team they could certainly make some alterations to make it more hockey friendly.

He did make it a point to say that they arent even close to the point of having to look at areas outside the NY "Metro Area" as a possible solution which is good news but sorta expected.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Some Islander employees you've come to know and some that you havent, will not be returning next season. The people behind the scenes include the Jesse Demers strength and conditioning coach who was let go. He was replaced by Derrek Douglas, after doing a little research it seems as though Mr Douglas is fresh out of school and has only been in the field for three years.

Additionally, trainer Garret Timms was fired, and no replacement has been named yet. It wouldnt surprise me if a replacement isnt named. Also, Ryan Ward who was the video coach and Katrina Doell the digital media manager both left voluntarily according to reports. We would like to wish them all the best of luck as they enter new ventures.

On the ice, the Islanders announced today that assistant coaches Scott Allen and Dean Chynoweth will not return to the coaching staff next season. I guess they are going to give Capuano a chance to pick his own guys and see how he fares, the confidence shown in him by Wang in the interview late in the season seems to be genuine. Early reports suggest that Brent Thompson the Head Coach in Bridgeport will be given a lot of consideration for the job after leading the Tigers to their first division title in 10 years this season. Its anyones guess who the team will get to replace the two of them, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if one of them is Thompson.

We would like to wish Dean and Scott the best of luck in their post Islander careers.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

If you weren't aware, with their win tonight the Bridgeport Soundtigers, the AHL affiliate of the Islanders clinched their division. This is the teams first division title since 01/02 when a young Rick Dipietro led them to the playoffs.

They finish off the regular season this Sunday afternoon at home. You can listen or watch the game live on AHLlive.com.

They will be playing the Connecticut Whale in the first round of the playoffs. The Whale also happen to be the AHL affiliate of the Rangers. Like their parent clubs in the NHL both of these teams are rivals so this series will be quite interesting I am sure. This series opens April 19th at 7PM at the Webster Bank Arena.

We would like to wish the Tigers the best of luck on their quest for the Calder Cup. Lets Go Tigers!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

BD Gallof reported on twitter yesterday, that the Islanders are trying to use the Asbestos issue to build a case and free themselves from the lease sooner then later. You can find a link to that tweet on our facebook wall.

He said that county officials think this was orchestrated by the team and knew they would use it from the start, however an Islander employee told BD that it wasn't orchestrated by the team, however they both agreed that the Islanders would at least try to use it.

This is interesting because it sort of goes in line with what Mike Francessa had to say on the issue a few weeks back on his show. On one of his shows a few weeks back, on a Friday, Mike said that he thought the Islanders were going to end up in Brooklyn next season and that the Coliseum would be condemned because of asbestos and the lawsuits against the county stemming from that. But Francessa couldn't possibly be right on a hockey issue, could he?

It certainly makes sense that the Islanders would try to use this because they would be foolish if they didn't. The town/county have treated them largely like garbage the last few years so why wouldn't they try to exploit any loop hole possible to get out of here at least on a temporary basis?

Will it work though is the question! That all depends I think in large part on the credibility of the results the attorney Joseph Dell has saying that there were dangerous levels of asbestos in many areas, additionally if he is truly serious about this and isn't just posturing to get his name and face out there for free publicity. Also, what the state and OSHA have to say will certainly be interesting as well.

Like I said in the Francessa article, because of the lack of information out there I can't say for sure what I think will/wont happen. All I can say is, it will be interesting and could get nasty so hang on Islanders Country, I think the end game is near.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Last night, our Islanders fell to the Columbus Bluejackets by a score of 7-3. Here are some of my notes from the game:

-All in all, this was a pathetic way to end the season!! Effort wasnt there at all, it was painful to watch. Especially the last 40 minutes.

-Bad game by Al Montoya, he certainly didnt do himself any favors heading into UFA with his performance the last six games.

-Butch Goring was in full homerism for this one. I love Butch, I do, but he just was really bad in this game. He repeatedly said the Islanders didnt embarass themselves and the score wasnt a reflection of the game as a hole. However, when you lose 7-3 to the worst team in the NHL I would say that is pretty embarassing.

-Good for Grabner to hit 20 goals after how his season has went.

-With the loss the Islanders locked up 4th place in the lottery for Tuesday night. Well see where the balls drop, maybe we will win and get to pick number one like 2000 when we took everyones favorite goalie.

If you dont know, this season the Islanders finished with the same record as they did two years ago when they eventually drafted Nino. It doesnt seem like theres progress being made with regard to results. It seems like were treading water on the edge of crappy play which is ok according to our owner because, "at least were not getting killed out there." As he told Newsday a few months ago.

The Islanders had really not much to play for in this game and it really showed unfortunatly. You would think they would at least play with a little pride, however, in large part the team failed to play even with that.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Tonight, in the beginning of the second period there was a small yet loud crew that held a sorta impromptu demonstration against Islanders owner Charles Wang. Chants of "Wang Must Go" filled the air for a few minutes, with the fans attempting to show displeasure with his management of the team.

Fans have grown frustrated with him because amongst other things, his "circumvention" of the cap mainly with unattainable bonuses and buyouts, to his stubborn attitude in certain areas both on and off the ice, and some even went as far as to say that his interview before the Ottawa game last week was basically a middle finger to Islander fans because he said that were ok with the results of this season because the coach and GM will be back. Additionally, he didnt make it seem like the team would be much better next season through off season improvements. Yet, he wants to raise season ticket prices and take away perks, among other things.

Good job by the fans involved showing unity amongst themselves for a common cause and I have a funny feeling the group will get bigger as the time goes on.

If you would like to see a video of their, "demonstration" you can find it on our facebook page. Also the official site for the group can be found on our sidebar.

Tonight, our Isles defeated the Jets by a score of 5-4. Here are some of my notes from the game:

-Nice game by Okposo, imagine if after all he went through in the beginning of the season he ends up scoring 25 goals this year? That would be some comeback!

-Great confidence boosting game for Grabner! Nice to finally see him score on a penalty shot/breakaway. Hopefully games like this will give him a bit of confidence going into next season that he has seemed to lack this season.

-BRUTAL non-call on the Mark Stuart trip of PA. An argument could be made that it shouldve been a penalty shot. The Islanders announced after the game that PA had a sprained ankle and was questionable for Saturdays game. However, islanderspointblank has a video up of the play and if you see the way PA's leg bent you'd know that he will most likely not be in the lineup come Saturday night.

-Bad game from Montoya! He just seemed off from the outset, and never got in any rhythm at all.

-Nice game from Matt Martin, thought he had multiple good chances.

-Matt Donavan has been impressive early on in his NHL career. Had a heck of a first game Tuesday vs the Devils playing against their top line multiple times. Then had a pretty good game again tonight, highlighted by a beautiful outlet pass from behind his goal line catching Matt Martin in stride at the Jets blue line for a breakaway.

-Not a bad game by Bailey, although he needs to work on learning not when to do the extra move. He does that so often and it always results in a turnover and a killing of the pressure.

After the last home game VS Ottawa this was more than welcome. It is certainly nice to leave the fans with a good taste in their mouths leaving the arena for the last time this season, especially after the last two home games.

Monday, April 2, 2012

In tomorrows edition of the Wall Street Journal there will be an article from Mike Sielski of the about how former Islander forward Pat LaFontaine has been basically erased from Islanders history after his spat with team owner Charles Wang after resigning from his position with the team in the summer of 2006.

If you have been to any games this season you know how the team for a few minutes before the teams take the ice shows a highlight video of some of the more memorable highlights of the teams history commemorating their 40th season. However, there is one notable highlight missing. That is of the Easter Epic. When at nearly 2:00 am on April 19th 1987 after hours upon hours of battling and big saves, an overtime goal by Pat LaFontaine gave the Islanders the win and has gone down as one of the teams top games ever, especially since the dynasty ended.

In 2006 after Mike Milbury was taken out of his spot as GM of this team Wang hired former Rangers GM Neil Smith to run the team. On the same day Wang hired Smith he also hired Pat LaFontaine as a senior advisor to the owner. However, citing philosophical differences a little more then a month after he was hired Neil Smith was fired by the owner and Garth Snow the teams backup goalie at the time was made the GM. On this same day, after spending hours trying to get Wang to reconsider his decision, Pat LaFontaine decided to resign from his position with the team.

The article states that Pat has tried to call Wang twice since then, that being at Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2006 asking Wang to meet him for coffee so they could reconcile. However, Wang never returned his calls.

So now, because of the owners childish behavior a great Islander and a fan favorite doesn't get the recognition he deserves. If you think about it, its not really a big mystery as to why fans want a change with regard to the management and overall running of this team.

If you would like to read more from the Wall Street Journal article you can find a link to it on our facebook page. I highly encourage you to do so as it was an excellent read.

According to Arthur Staple of Newsday free agent to be PA Parenteau is seeking a 4 year deal worth 4 million dollars per year. Staple says that the Islanders want him back but on their terms which Staple says means less years and dollars.

Based off other contracts that have been handed out this season (see Ales Hemsky and Tuomo Ruutu) PA seeking 4 million per isn't an outlandish demand at all. It is more then reasonable in fact as it is less then the two aforementioned players received who don't have stats as good as PAs are this season.

However, the fact that the Islanders see this as to much is a bit concerning. Instead of focusing on giving the player a fair contract based off his production. Production keep in mind that before last season we haven't seen around here in a really long time. They are more focused on penny pinching, and people wonder why groups like the Islanders Fans For Change site that I just added to the side bar pop up.

When the management is raising ticket prices after lottery finishes and taking away season ticket holder perks, you expect them to add to the team so maybe they can finally take the next step. Not subtract from the team because the teams second leading scorer wouldn't take a low ball offer from them.

Hopefully they stop penny pinching to this extent and are able to reach a compromise because if they don't I think we will be in a bit of trouble come next season.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Prior to this afternoons game against the Senators, Islanders owner Charles Wang was interviewed by announcer Howie Rose.

In the interview, Wang mentioned that there is nothing new to report on a new arena and our expected location post 2015.

What I wanted to focus on was that he said Garth Snow and Jack Capuano will be returning next season. While I am not surprised on Garth as he is Wangs yes man and will never be let go. I am kind of surprised on Capuano.

While I didn't disagree with them for keeping him on this year, I think he shouldve been let go after this season with us once again getting a lottery pick. He works in a results oriented business and didn't achieve results. Although one can argue that the Islanders don't believe in this motto since Garth Snow still has his job even after 5 straight years of lottery picks.

By keeping specifically Capuano on, it shows the team was ok with the results this season. If the upper management is ok with these results then the fans and players are in trouble because that means things wont be changing much anytime soon. If they wanted to show a true care for winning they would've went out and looked for a coach with experience. Acquiring a coach of that caliber wouldn't have only helped them on the ice, it would've helped them off the ice with fans and as well as free agents because it shows a commitment to winning that has been previously lacked here.

Hopefully that statement from Wang was just an April Fools joke for the fans by Wang, but something tells me it was serious.

This afternoon, our Isles fell by a score of 5-1 to the Spezza and Alfredson less Senators. This victory clinched a playoff spot for Ottawa. Here are some of my notes:

-Well, the first period was an ok period for the Isles. Didnt look to bad in any aspect of the game at all!

-However after that it was all down hill as both the second and the third period were pretty bad. Outside of a handful of players the team basically played dead.

-Outside of Martin, Haley, and Tavares and maybe a few other people the entire team should hang their heads after this game. It was simply horrible from all aspects!

-Al Montoya didnt have a horrible game as he received little help. However, if he wants to prove to teams that he can be an effective starter hes got to come up with big saves from time to and he failed to do that today.

-Did anyone else shake their heads rapidly when they saw that Capuano put out a lineup of five defensemen after the Senators second goal? That was one of the oddest things I have seen in a while.

To be honest, there isn't much more to say on this game. Hopefully, they come with a better effort for the rest of the season. It would a real shame after how well the Penguins home and home went if they ended up playing like this for the rest of the season.